GIANNOULIAS REFUSES MONEY FROM CORPORATE PACS & FEDERAL LOBBYISTS

3/30/2009

As most of you know, I've formed an Exploratory Committee to consider running for the U.S. Senate seat once held by my friend and political mentor, President Barack Obama. Inspired by his example, I'm announcing today that if I ultimately decide to run, I will not accept any contributions from corporate PACs or Washington lobbyists.

I announce this decision as we witness today the disastrous aftermath of the golden age of corporate special interests and lobbyists. George W. Bush's policies, implemented at the insistence of a few and at the expense of many, have plundered our treasury, bankrupted our future, and poisoned our politics.

The election of Barack Obama signaled that this age of skewed policies is coming to an end. The change Americans voted for in the 2008 election was a call to take back our government from those few, narrow interests that dominated Washington for far too long.

Today, in that spirit, I am taking a step that no major Illinois candidate from either party has ever taken in a run for the U.S. Senate. It is a decision that advances us one step closer to that change that we all fought for and believed in last November. I will simply say "NO" to contributions from all federal lobbyists and corporate PACs.

These special interests do not represent the interests of most Americans, and they should not be allowed to buy a seat at the table when it comes to deciding critical issues or determining the direction of our nation, especially in the midst of our current financial crisis.

Read more here